Spiral rotary ship or similar vessel



April 9, 1929. .1. c. BECHARD SPIRAL ROTARY SHIP OR SIMILAR VESSEL Filed May '29, 192s IIMII vnNfrrinsfrA-'lrias PATENT oFFicE.

. JSEPHV'C. .BECHARD, OF FALL' RIVER, MASSAU'SETTS.

sriRAn Berner SHIP on. SIMILAR VESSEL.

Apeiioatio'li ined may 2e,

My invention relates toa new and useful type of b'oatwhich spins through the water,

the boat beingwaterproofed throughoutso that water passing overhead doesv not enter the interior. Unlike "the'submarine this boat"y is intendedfor use on thelwater but by reason of'itspeculiar constructionV is adapted to cut itswaythrough waves' or breakers with a minimum 'amount'of resistance,l The' speed which may be attainedwith' this model illustrated in the drawingis enormous. i f

The boat, hereinafter 'described andiillustratedin the accompanying drawings, isv an improvement upon the spirali rotary ship, patented to 'jme by Letters Patent Number 1,665,012, and dated VApril 3, 1928. It is an object of my' invention to provide a boat ofthe ellips'oidall type wherein the outer shell 'is caused to revolve Varound onthe keel, the shell having spirally disposed vanes on its surface to accelerate its 'speed aheadf The internal arrangement is such that thecoinpartments within are independent ofand do not revolve with the shell. Astabilizing keel is provided upon which ythe boat turns.

lrt'further object of my invention is to provide a: driving means for rotating the outer shell of the boat which comprises a circumferential gear disposed internally of said outer ner necessary for vthe properlrunning ofthe Y means of 'the' mechanism 'illustrated boat. c Y

@ther*objectsY and advantages will appear vfrom the detailed description which followsi l attain these objects and advantages by in the drawingswherein:' i I 'Figurel is aside elevational view of `my ship showingV the ellipsoidal'cuter Ashell mounted/on the keel, the spirally disposed vanes on said shell also being shown.v

i928.Y Y"serial No. 281.566.l

front end of the ship.

Figure 3 is a. cross sectional view of one of the ends of the ship rshowing the manner of mounting the ship for rotation of the exterior shell while the inner shell remains stationary.

Figure 4t is a cross sectional view taken through the keel adjacent the fin members and showingthe gear members for controllin 0' the fin members. l l f a Figure 5 is a c ross sectional view-'taken' through the keel at astill lower point to show the mounting of the iin members on the keel.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views. Y i Referring to the drawings, l is the outer shell o fthe ship substantiallyellipsoidal in designV and being mounted for rotary movement on Vits ends which arejournaled on the tubular members Q and 3 which are secured to the keel e'. The shellk l may be constructed of wooden lagging or sheet metal, or, in fact, any suitable material, reinforcing means may be used internally thereof to strengthen the same. A

As both ends of the boat are alike it will be only necessary to describe one end of the mechanism tofshow the manner` of relative movement between the moving shell and the fixedftubular end.' At the open end of the outer shell an end member 5 is secured. Disposedbetween this end member of the outer shellland the tubular member /2 are thebearings-G and 7. A stuffing boX 8 is provided at `he outermost extremity of V'the end member and a facing strip 9 is attached lto the end meinberand ovei'lies the outer shell. vThe end member 5'is provided at its innermost extremityv with a circumferential gear l0.

Disposedwithin the revolvable outer shell is theinner stationary shell 1l which is of shorter'length and is fixedly mounted Vto the innerends of the tubular members 2 and 3. rhe motive power (notvshown). isplaced within this lined compartment or shell, but its driving shaft 12 passes through a bearing member 13 in the end wall of vthe inner shell to 'a'point without-andis of such length that a driving gear on'tlie end'of said shaft is adapted to mesh with theteeth of the cireumferentialgear member l0 which is secured to the outershell.

It will be appreciatedthatby the turning Figure 2 is a front elevational view of the CFI of the shaft 12 with the corresponding drivmggear 14 that the outer shell will be made Vto rotate, the speed of rotation depending upon the number of revolutions. They prol pulsion ofV the boat is accelerated by means of the spirally disposed vanes 15. f At'the 'inner end ofthe end member 5 is'` provided' the partition members 30 and 31 which are respectively secured to the end member and the tubular end 2 with a stuliing box 32 at theii` jointure to 'retain' thelubricant for the driving gear.

With reference to ythe keel the tubular ends 2 and 3 are secured to the keel as shown'V in Figure 1. A pilot house may beplaced at each end offthe'keel and means may be had Vwithin the pilot house for controlling the rudder 16 and Vthe stabilizing means 17. A 4suitable exhaust pipe 35 may be provided as shown.- 'As shown in Figure 2 the keel tapers downwardly, the lin members 18 being shown i i extended outwardly.

I` 'will now speak withreference tothe t stabilizing means 17 which'is shown in Figure'l3 Vand more particularly invFigures` Zl and 5. The stabilizing means comprisesthe vlin members 18 which are disposed on each side ofthe keel in the pockets19 provided therefor. vThe fin members are providedvwith split collar portions 20 at the head ends, which in'e'addition to being secured to said head ends surround the rods 22 and 23which pass through the keel as shown in Figure 1.

" The rods 22 and 23 are held in hinged relation bymeans of the straps or bands 21 (see 'Y Figure '1)' which are secured to the keel and allow clearance ,for the rods to move the iin members in and out. It will be seen that the 4` membersareheld in hinged relation to 'the keel. l VVwardly a distance about half way between The rods 22 and23 extend upthe stabilizer and the pilot house (see Figure and they arefprovided on their upper ends upon the turn of the control rods `within the pilot house.V The necessary deflectionof the with gear members 24 and 25,. Control rods 26 'and 27 run from said pilot housedown to points l'adjacent said gears 24 and 25and arcv provided with pinioiis 28and 29 whiclimesh with said gears and manipulate the saine finv members, in order to stabilize thekeel,

is :generally not very great and by the means proposed it may be regulated minutely and steadily. As may be seen vfrom Figure 11 the eans for controlling the stabilizer is'enclosed within'tli'e keel. V I` The mode of operation ofthe rotary ship isas follows; vvThe ydriving forceisapplied tothe driving gear from a motor or engine vvco ' fable' shell and causes it tofrotate. lherevo-k within the stationary compartments of the shipj andthe driving gear in turn, meshes Awith thelteethof the gear means which is circumferentially" disposed on the outer mov@ lutionof the outershell inthe water causes V*the spiral vaiies to cut the water and to propel the ship ahead. By reason ofits tapered ends the ship is suited to readily cut through waves and breakers without materially reducing its speed. The shell may be provided with a transparent surface at some portion of its vsurfaceto 'provide illumination for the interior, however, this is optional.

A'lltliat has been said above in the description of my preferred embodiment is offered by way of illustration and not limitation. I

do not wish to vloe limited to the exact structure of the preferred embodiment shownanddescribed, `or to particular material used inthe constructionof parts, or to thejdesign of parts,' but desire protectionas against any variations in vstructure or Lsubstitut-ion of equivalents whichY utilize the principle of my Vinventionl and fall within the purview'of my invention and are Within the spiritand scope ofthe following claims. f

The invention having been set forth,what is claimed as new and useful is: i'

1. A self contained rotaryl ship comprisi'ng'a keel, an ellipsoidalf shell mounted for axial movement on said keel, spirally dis-V posed vanes on said shell, a stabilizing'means stabilizing vmeans 'comprising fin members f h ingedly secured to said keel vportion,vsaid fin members havingjrod portions secured thereto and extendingv upwardly, said 'rod portions being provided with gear membersV at their upper extremities and control rods for each'of said rods, said control rods having a gear means at Ythe lower extremity to mesh with the gears on the rods, said control rods' being adapted to move said fin members through the gear means set forth.

3.' A boat comprising an imperforate shell,

llO

a keel, saidshell being mounted for axial rotation on said keel, means v on'said shell for propelling said boat, said means comprising a driving means witliinsaid boat adapted to coact with means circumferentially disposed within said shell, stabilizing means 'on said keel, said stabilizing Vmeanscomprising tin members disposed on eachfside'of 'saidkeeh c oiitrol means withinVV said boat for control,- ling eachof said fin members. n A 4.V A self contained rotary ship comprising a keel, tubular ends Vsecured to said keel,4

ashell of ellipsoidal shapeyni'ount'ed Vfor axial v movement on said tubular ends, vspirally disposed varies on saidfs'helha circumferential gear disposed interiorly'ofgsaidshell, driving means within said boat for coacting with said circumferential gear to rotate said shell, stabilizing means at the bow portion of said keel, said stabilizing means comprising fin members hingedly secured to said keel portion, said tin members having rod portions secured thereto and extending upwardly, said rod portions being provided with gear mem` bers and theirvupper extremities and Control rods for each of said rods, said control rods having pinions at the lower extremity to mesh 10 with the gears on the rods, said control rods being adapted to move said fin members through the gear means set forth.

In testimony whereof I have ailixed my signature.

JOSEPH C. BECHARD. 

